A 17-year-old inmate at
a state juvenile correctional center in Bridge City died Thursday after an altercation
with a guard, triggering investigations by the FBI, State Police and Jefferson
Parish homicide detectives, officials said.

Emmanuel Narcisse of Harvey,
who turned 17 on April 7, had been at the Bridge City Correction Center for
Youth at 3225 River Road for about a month, said his mother, Janet Goins of
Harvey. On advice from her attorney, she would not say why her son was incarcerated.

Goins said she learned about
the incident Thursday about 8 a.m. from a relative, who told her to go to West
Jefferson Medical Center. Narcisse was unconscious when he arrived by ambulance
accompanied by one of the center's guards, she said, adding that no one from
the center or state officially told her what happened to her son.

Goins said she saw her
son as he was being taken from the ambulance into the hospital. "He was bleeding
from the head," she said. "He had blood on his face. . . . He looked like he
was beaten to me."

An autopsy is scheduled
for today, but until it is complete the death will be listed as unclassified,
said Col. Robert Garner of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office, adding that
he was waiting for homicide detectives to provide more details about the case.

"Depending on the results
of the autopsy, we'll go from there," Garner said.

'Altercation' erupts

About 7:15 a.m. Narcisse
was involved in "an altercation" with a security officer outside the correctional
facility's infirmary, said Richard Stalder, secretary of the Louisiana Department
of Public Safety and Corrections, in a written statement.

Trey Boudreaux, the department's
undersecretary, said only Narcisse and the guard were involved. He declined
to say what caused the altercation, citing the investigation.

It happened during the
routine morning "pill call," when inmates go to the infirmary to get their medication,
he said. He would not say whether Narcisse was taking medication.

Stalder said the center
called for an ambulance after Narcisse was injured. Narcisse died at the hospital
at 8:26 a.m., Stalder said. The guard, who was not identified, was placed on
administrative leave.

"The FBI is looking into
the facts surrounding the circumstances of his death," Thorne said. "This is
due to a potential federal violation, if in fact his civil rights were violated."

Stalder said State Police
also are investigating the death and that the federal Department of Justice
has been notified about it.

System under fire

The center, one of four
in the state, can house up to 180 juveniles. It was not immediately known how
many inmates are there. The center's warden, John Anderson, referred questions
to Stalder's statement.

David Utter, director of
the Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana, a watchdog group based in New Orleans
that is monitoring youth prison conditions, described the four state-run juvenile
facilities as "dangerous places."

"These kids are subjected
to violence on a daily basis, and it's been only by the grace of God that other
kids have not died," Utter said. "This should be a wake-up call."

Word of Narcisse's death
reached the state Senate in Baton Rouge. Sens. Chris Ullo, D-Marrero, and Donald
Cravins, D-Arnaudville, took the Senate floor Thursday afternoon, saying the
teenager's death illustrates the need to reform Louisiana's juvenile justice
system. "I'm very, very concerned about these detention facilities," Ullo said.

The death "points to the
fact that the system begs to be reformed," Cravins said after he got off the
floor. "We need people who are well-trained and are prepared to handle kids
with as little violence as can be reasonably had."

Changes sought

Cravins and other lawmakers
are pushing legislation that would establish a framework to rehabilitate young
offenders in community-based programs, instead of locking them up in juvenile
prison.

Proponents of the legislation
also are arguing that the state needs to close one of the juvenile prisons,
most likely the Tallulah prison in northeast Louisiana, using the operation's
financing to pay for the new programs.

Utter, a proponent of the
legislation, said it should have been done long ago instead of handling the
juvenile justice system like the adult correctional system. "That's what could
have prevented this tragedy," he said of the legislation.

Narcisse looked forward
to attending barber school when he got out of the correctional center and promised
to straighten out his life, Goins said. "He was looking forward to coming home,"
she said.

Goins said she hopes Bridge
City officials will contact her about the incident.

"We're still waiting to
hear," Goins said. "We have no details at all."

. . . . . . .

Laura Maggi contributed
to this report. Paul Purpura can be reached at ppurpura@timespicayune.com or
(504) 826-3791.